吉林省初中英语2020-2021学年中考模拟题（3）

    Since last December, there have been lots of COVID-19（新冠肺炎） cases both in and out of China. It's not the first time for humans to fight with Viruses. Viruses have brought big trouble to humans, because they may cause widespread disease and death.

    What are they? Viruses are considered to be non-living organisms ( 有机物). They can infect animals, plants and humans, making them sick. They have materials like DNA and are protected by a kind of special skin.

    Viruses can't reproduce( 繁殖) on their own. Instead, they break in the cells( 细胞) of living organisms to reproduce, spread and take over. But the basic question is, "Where did viruses first come from?" Until now, no clear explanation for this question. "It is difficult to find out where viruses first came from," Ed Rybicki, a virologist at the university of Cape Town in South Africa, told Scientific American, "because viruses don't leave fossils ( 化 石 ) and because it is difficult to study the ways they use to make copies of themselves within the cells they've broken in." Understanding where they came from means fully understanding the history of their hosts( 宿主) – not only humans, but also plants and other animals, which is a difficult task, says Nature.

    UK physicist Isaac Newton once said, "Nature is pleased with simplicity and nature is no dummy (傻子)." Indeed, mother nature can provide almost everything humans need if we follow her rules. But if we break the rules, she is likely to be cruel and mad at us. It is believed that the outbreak of COVID-19 is a good example. Humans try to change mother nature. They use more land to make buildings, catch some wild animals to meet their own needs. Humans gradually throw our mother nature out of balance(平衡). For example, cutting a large number of forests leads to global(全球的) warming.

    Although we don't know exactly what first caused the COVID-19 outbreak, Brian Lamacraft at Medium said it's time for people to "think carefully about our relationship with our mother nature" and "reconnect with this world and everything that we've been given". After all, according to US poet Gary Snyder, "Nature is not the place to visit. It's our home."

Human beings!

    We are bats! Many of you are now afraid of us, aren't you? There has been a serious corona virus （冠状病毒） outbreak （爆发） in China. Many people say the virus comes from us bats. They believe we are the killers! Grrr! We are angry about this! We bats have lived on Earth for 50 million years. How long have you humans been here? We have developed super immunity （免疫力）. In other words, we can live with many viruses. How about you? Let us tell you: Some of these viruses can easily kill you!

    Yes, we are very dangerous. We know this, so we try to stay away from you. We look ugly. That's because we want you to hate us. We come out only at night—when most of you are sleeping.

    However, some of you have perhaps forgotten how dangerous we are. You have killed our brothers and sisters and eaten their meat. The viruses in the bat meat attacked these people. How foolish they were!

    I hope you will learn a lesson from the corona virus outbreak. Don't eat or touch wild animals! Please!

Best wishes,

Bats

    Gloria is a famous hostess of a TV station. When she was 15, she happened to walk into a bookstore in her hometown and began looking at the books on the shelves. The man behind the counter, John Smith, asked if she'd like a job. She needed to start saving for college, so she said "yes".

    Gloria worked after school and during summer vacations, and the job helped pay for her first year of college. During college she would do many other jobs: she served coffee in the student union, was a hotel cleaner and even made maps for the Forest Service. But selling books was one of the most satisfying jobs.

    One day a woman came into the bookstore and asked Gloria for books on cancer. The woman seemed anxious. Gloria showed her practically everything they had and found other books they could order. The woman left the store less worried, and Gloria has always remembered the pride she felt in having helped her customer.

    Years later, as a television hostess, Gloria heard about a child who was borm with problems with his fingers and hand. His family could not afford an operation, and the boy lived in shame, hiding his hand in his pocket all the time.

    Gloria persuaded(说服) her boss to agree to let her do the story. After the story was broadcast, some doctors called, offering to perform the operation for free.

    Gloria visited the boy in the hospital after the operation. The first thing he did was to hold up his repaired hand and say, "Thank you". What a sweet sense of satisfaction Gloria felt!

    At Smith's bookstore, Gloria always realized she was working for the customers, not the store. Today it's the same. The TV station pays her, but she feels that she should work for the people who watch the programs, helping them understand the world better.

Stay Home Studying

    17-year-old Liu Yu was a high school student in China. She planned to go back to school on Feb 17 to prepare for the 2020 college entrance examination (高考) . However, the Ministry of Education (教育部) told people in late January that the spring term for all schools would be put off because of the serious disease (疾病) in China. So Liu Yu, like all the others students, had to stay at home.
    However, Liu and her classmates didn't fell behind their plans and began studying full-time again – only from home. It may have become the largest online teaching experiment the country has ever seen.
    To go with students' new learning environment, a "cloud platform (云平台) " was started using on Feb 17. It provided students with education resources (资源)  covering all school subjects. But some students had difficulty going to the website or using smart phones. A TV channel by China Education Television started airing classes on Feb 17. So students could have classes and study online or on TV at home.
    But the online platform and TV channel don't just offer school knowledge. Students can also learn how to protect themselves from the disease and psychological (心理的) health during this period, according to the Ministry of Education.
    For some students, the chance to study from home has had some unexpected benefits. Yuan Siyi, who lives in Hubei province, used to get up before 6 am on school days, but since starting online courses, she got more hours of sleep every morning. "I like online teaching because I have more freedom at home," Yuan told TEENS. She began her all-day courses on Feb 3.
    However, online teaching and learning has its weaknesses compared to studying in a traditional classroom. "My motivation (动力) to study is stronger when my classmates are around me and all working very hard," Yuan said.

According to the Ministry of Education, online courses are just a short-time way of learning during the disease. When the new term begins, schools will no longer use online classes instead of classroom teaching.

A: I really love classical music. It's  wonderful that I listen to it every day.

B: What about pop music? Do you like it?

A: Yes, but not so much  classical music.

B: Well, I'm interested in pop music. I like it very much.

A: Do you like Chinese pop music, too?

B: Yes, certainly.

A: But do you understand it?

B: Only a , but it doesn't matter whether I understand the words or not. I just enjoy to it.

A: How about the Beijing Opera? Do you like it, too?

B: Yes, I do. It' s very beautiful.

A: Really? I don't like it at all. I'm afraid  fall asleep if I listen to it. It's much too

slow.

A: Hello! May I speak to Mary?

B: Speaking.

A: This is Lin Tao.  .

B: I am watching a soap opera at home.

A: .

B: In fact, I don't mind it.

A I don't like soap operas, either. So, do you want to go to a movie?

B: . I went to the beach last weekend. It made me feel tired.

A: How was your weekend?

B:  . The beaches were beautiful, the food was delicious, and the people there were friendly.

A: Really? I want to go there. But my parents don't.

B: . Just do what you like to.

A: OK, I will. Bye.

B: Bye-bye.

—I'm not sure. I____________ go to a friend's farm in the countryside.

— At eight o'clock.